Abstract. From January 1990 to December 2006, Helen Keller International implemented
the Nutritional Surveillance Project (NSP) in Bangladesh, which has been
used to conduct regular surveillance and special surveys to provide
information on health and nutritional status of children and mothers, and
report on the coverage and impact of nutrition and health programs in
Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh (GOB) distributes vitamin A Capsule
(VAC) among children aged 12–59 months biannually. The NSP data was analyzed
to assess VAC coverage and to explore which children were less likely to
receive a VAC in order to help GOB identify necessary modifications aimed at
higher coverage of VAC among all eligible children. Results showed that
coverage among girls and boys was not different (P=0.970). However, coverage
was consistently lower among children aged 12–23 months compared to older
children (24–59 months) (P≤0.001) in each of the distribution rounds.
Coverage among children from poorer households was lower than among children
from wealthiest households (P<0.001), with the extent of this difference
varying by round. Coverage was significantly higher if households had had
contact with a government health assistant in the last month (P<0.001); and
among households who owned a radio or a TV compared to those who did not.
The VAC distribution campaign needs to be strengthened to cover the children
who are currently not reached; especially younger children, children living
in underserved regions, children from poorer households and from households
with less contact with health service providers or mass media.